TERRY MOSHER
TOP OF THE TOWN – The world of sports is being hit like an earthquake, rattling franchises from pros to colleges. I guess it’s just a way things are going in our society these days, it’s become normal to be abnormal. From Kevin Durant asking the Brooklyn Nets to trade him for God only know what now that Minnesota shocked the world in an earthquake-type move by acquiring three-time defensive player of the year, Rudy Gobert, from the Utah Jazz for – get this – five first-round picks , three players and a pick swap. Wow, giving up that much for a guy who is basically a one-dimensional player (defense only) shook NBA franchises from Miami to Portland. What was the Timberwolves thinking? So the trade bar is now higher than a 10-foot basket. So what will the Nets ask for Durant? There was a report that the Nets asked the Timberwolves for four draft picks, Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns. Double wow. I’m not a great watcher of regular season NBA games. It’s just too boring to watch all the dunks and lazy defense. A further negative for me is teams loading up with superstars who jump from franchise to franchise. There is little loyalty, and I’m a very loyal person. I’m loyal to a fault. So it bothers me big-time to see LeBron, Durant and Kyrie Irving bounce around from team to team like balls in a pinball machine. Yeah, I know its human nature for teams from recreation to colleges (transfer portal) to pros to build powerful teams. It also happens in businesses with the big guys like Walmart crushing the small mom and pop stores and big corporations gobbling up smaller firms. I grew up with teams where you could count on the same players year after year. Not anymore. Your favorite player may be playing for your favorite team today but there is no guarantee he will be there tomorrow. A prime example of that is Russell Wilson. I believe Wilson is faithful to his Christian religion, but otherwise he’s phony as a three-dollar bill. He talked how much he loved Seattle and the Seahawks, but behind the scenes he was maneuvering to get out of town. He choose Denver, which was excited to get one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL Wilson will be back in Seattle Sept. 12 when the Denver Broncos open the season against the Seahawks. The Broncos with Wilson are being tapped as one of the favorites to contend for a Super Bowl. The Seahawks in contrast will be contending for the bottom of the NFL West. Yeah, no matter how Pete Carroll spins it, the 2022 football season isn’t going to be good for the Seahawks. The Broncos will crush them, and others in the West will too. The Seahawks won’t win with Drew Lock and Geno Smith as their quarterbacks. Both of them are back-ups at the best. This is a season you best try to forget. Speaking of change, the Pac-12 is on its death bed. UCLA and USC are leaving for the Big Ten in 2024 and without the major Los Angeles market the conference is dead on arrival. This poaching by the Big Ten is also normal human behavior. The big and wealthy try to get bigger and wealthier and the smalls and poor will get smaller and poorer. Does that sound familiar? That is what has happened in our capitalism system. The rich have gotten richer and the poor have gotten poorer. The gap between the two is at absurd size and the power is with the rich. Nobody has figured out what Washington and Oregon will do next. But they can’t stand by and not doing anything. I think they will partner with the ACC. Travel becomes an issue, but academically they line up. I don’t think the Big-12 alignment will work for Washington and Oregon. Academically, it just isn’t there. The Big-Ten is trying to convince Notre Dame to join. If the Irish do I would expect Stanford to be invited to join also. That puts Washington and Oregon on the outs with the Big Ten. The two Pac-12 schools that are the most nervous are Washington State and Oregon State. I’m pretty sure they would be comfortable joining in with the Big-12. One thing for me seems certain – death of the Pac-12. As for me, I’m outta here. Stay Safe.
Be well pal.
Be careful out there.
Have a great day.
You are loved.